Are today's shiny new motorhomes fit for purpose?

[LostInSpace]

I think not.

A shiny new Fiat based motorhome purchased new this year has been off the road for two months, unable to start the engine.

Why?

Because the start/stop system went start/stop start/STOP on lane two of a busy motorway - not to start again and has since been on the back of 4 recovery trucks. The tracker people keep ringing to ask why is it moving without the engine running?

In addition to that, before it STOPPED, the regenerative braking system was ridiculous - at best, only charging the starter battery to 12.2 volts. In some cases, the start/stop system was discharging the battery faster than the alternator could recharge it.

After being recovered from lane 2 of the motorway, the dealer told me that the engine battery was probably dead/dying when we bought it because it had been left uncharged in various places after the battery manufacturer made it. Quite probably for years before we got it.

The prospect of a low leisure battery being charged above 12.2 volts was non exsistant. (and that battery had probably suffered the same fate as the starter battery)

 

[Coolcats]

But sometimes its red

I’m not a farmer and deny everything

 

[Coolcats]

depends which end of the engine you're looking at

EU6 produces rose petals

 

[LostInSpace]

If the van has done a few thousand miles then it is more likely to be OK than brand new one..

I might have agreed with you, until ....

Our nice brand new Fiat based motorhome had done a few thousand miles of very pleasant touring before it broke down. Fiat Professional said it was a factory fault.

 

[our poppy llll]

Well I think my ICE MH will last another 20 years.

The answer is not battery technology, Battery solutions will never replace internal combustion. In 20-30 years the world will wake up and instead of producing batteries for vehicles will instead burn bio diesels. The future is in zero emissions from exhausts, this will be achieved by filtering systems that capture all obnoxious waste when burning manmade fuels. By the end of this century our power stations will be bio fuel fed with zero emissions. Because we can’t keep burning trees to feed power stations. Our cars will run on super clean zero emission bio diesel with exhaust filters. The capture of emissions is the only way we can achieve sufficient clean power in industry or transport, anything that produces emissions needs a filtering capture system. Result clean air.

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[Guigsy]

The answer is not battery technology, Battery solutions will never replace internal combustion. In 20-30 years the world will wake up and instead of producing batteries for vehicles will instead burn bio diesels. The future is in zero emissions from exhausts, this will be achieved by filtering systems that capture all obnoxious waste when burning manmade fuels. By the end of this century our power stations will be bio fuel fed with zero emissions. Because we can’t keep burning trees to feed power stations. Our cars will run on super clean zero emission bio diesel with exhaust filters. The capture of emissions is the only way we can achieve sufficient clean power in industry or transport, anything that produces emissions needs a filtering capture system. Result clean air.

Even in the UK, It's about 6 times more energy efficient to fill a field with solar panels than grow corn or rapeseed for biofuels. And then factor in that BEVs go a lot further per kWh of energy that a diesel engine. If we replaced all our fossil fuels with biofuels, we'd need several Earths for the land area required. The maths just doesn't add up.

 

[Pausim]

The answer is not battery technology, Battery solutions will never replace internal combustion. In 20-30 years the world will wake up and instead of producing batteries for vehicles will instead burn bio diesels. The future is in zero emissions from exhausts, this will be achieved by filtering systems that capture all obnoxious waste when burning manmade fuels. By the end of this century our power stations will be bio fuel fed with zero emissions. Because we can’t keep burning trees to feed power stations. Our cars will run on super clean zero emission bio diesel with exhaust filters. The capture of emissions is the only way we can achieve sufficient clean power in industry or transport, anything that produces emissions needs a filtering capture system. Result clean air.

Bio fuels are not the answer, we need to feed the planet too. Not enough land for both.

 

[Tony50]

The answer is not battery technology, Battery solutions will never replace internal combustion. In 20-30 years the world will wake up and instead of producing batteries for vehicles will instead burn bio diesels. The future is in zero emissions from exhausts, this will be achieved by filtering systems that capture all obnoxious waste when burning manmade fuels. By the end of this century our power stations will be bio fuel fed with zero emissions. Because we can’t keep burning trees to feed power stations. Our cars will run on super clean zero emission bio diesel with exhaust filters. The capture of emissions is the only way we can achieve sufficient clean power in industry or transport, anything that produces emissions needs a filtering capture system. Result clean air.

I think it will be hydrogen, a Ammonia based fuel that's being experimented with in Far East

 

[FrankNicklin]

Even in the UK, It's about 6 times more energy efficient to fill a field with solar panels than grow corn or rapeseed for biofuels. And then factor in that BEVs go a lot further per kWh of energy that a diesel engine. If we replaced all our fossil fuels with biofuels, we'd need several Earths for the land area required. The maths just doesn't add up.

Rather than fill fields with solar panels there are 1000's of acres of unused roof space on houses, factories and office blocks. Every new build should by law incorporate the need to install solar on the roof space to feed in to the grid. We need fields for food, not bio fuels and solar panels.

 

[Guigsy]

Rather than fill fields with solar panels there are 1000's of acres of unused roof space on houses, factories and office blocks. Every new build should by law incorporate the need to install solar on the roof space to feed in to the grid. We need fields for food, not bio fuels and solar panels.

I agree. And solar provides the opportunity to power vehicles from otherwise redundant rooftops.

My view is that most smaller vehicles including panel vans will move to batteries. Heavy vehicles will be on a mix of batteries and maybe hydrogen. But motorhomes will remain in the gap where batteries don't make sense, but hydrogen is only available to much bigger chassis. So I suspect we'll be clinging to ICE engines for a good while, running increasingly expensive diesel-bio mix.

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[Marie-Claire]

When are they going to make car roofs and bonnets from a solar material then when they are parked all day they will charge themselves?. Experimental vehicles have circumnavigated the globe doing this allready.

 

[FrankNicklin]

When are they going to make car roofs and bonnets from a solar material then when they are parked all day they will charge themselves?. Experimental vehicles have circumnavigated the globe doing this allready.

Only time will tell. The experimental vehicles are purpose built lightweight machines using low voltage systems. Try powering a MH or Car via the sun (charging big batteries, big motors) and you will quickly see the limitations.

 

[Guigsy]

When are they going to make car roofs and bonnets from a solar material then when they are parked all day they will charge themselves?. Experimental vehicles have circumnavigated the globe doing this allready.

A square metre of solar panel provides at most 300w in direct summer sunshine. There's only a few square metres on the roof of a car. It means that a solar roof in ideal conditions would take about two weeks to mostly charge a car's battery. By the time you get to September, it'll take until November to charge it.

The global challenge cars are silly light skateboards. That only work at very low speeds in very sunny places.

Solar roofs on cars are good for running the AC, but not much more.

 

[Marie-Claire]

Commuting cars in places like spain could do it quite easily if they were built for short commutes and not the heavy cosy palaces on wheels we have now which need larger batteries and bigger motors

 

[Tony50]

I think it will be hydrogen, a Ammonia based fuel that's being experimented with in Far East

Should have read or a Ammonia based fuel

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[Tony50]

Title says " Are today's new shiny motorhomes fit for purpose" .
They are in design if you choose the one that suits you.
That's if you can keep them out of the Dealer's workshop after having the faults put right, that's if they are capable.